Now and Then. 37 



Brougham, Madame Vestris the cynosure of every 

 eye, and Mrs. Nesbitt a lovely and fascmating girl. 

 These were some of the well-remembered person- 

 ages of the period that were recalled to my mind 

 as I strolled along Hyde Park on a brilliant spring 

 morning during the present season ; and, as I drew 

 a mental comparison of those frequenting this place 

 of fashionable resort now with the habitues who 

 were conspicuous then, I was fain to exclaim with 

 the minstrel of yore, " Old times are changed, old 

 manners gone ! " Not only, forsooth, are the times 

 and manners changed, but a wondrous transformation 

 has taken place in the scene itself. In those days 

 it was a dull, dreary, down-trodden piece of common 

 land, with here and there a dismal, stunted, sooty 

 liliac bush, suggestive of cats and back gardens, 

 such as may still be found in some of the dingiest 

 quarters of the metropolis, made gay and cheerful 

 only by the presence of those frequenting it. Now 

 it is a beautiful and trimly-kept demesne, with ver- 

 dant lawns, luxuriant blossoming shrubs, and rich 

 parterres of choice and lovely flowers, displayed in 

 most excellent taste, around which, in due season, 

 are to be seen assembled the elite of the fashionable 

 world, listening to the enchanting strains of the 

 Coldstream band. But, though the Park itself is so 

 greatly changed and so vastly improved, it must 

 not for a moment be supposed that the present fre- 

 quenters surpass in beauty, elegance, or style those 

 of their predecessors in the world of fashion who 

 have, like well -graced actors, left the stage to the 

 undisputed possession of their successors. No ; for 

 does not memory vividly recall the strangely-beau- 



